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Charlotte test builds on Gen-6 development

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR was back on track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Wednesday to gather valuable data for the development of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series intermediate-track package for 2014. Thirty race teams were onsite in Concord, N.C., to confirm several changes to the Gen-6 car in an effort to improve racing at intermediate tracks in 2014.

"We accomplished our goal today," said Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR vice president of innovation and racing development. "We wanted to take the results from October and get more data and feedback that will ultimately allow us to arrive at a final setup for our intermediate tracks. With more cars and teams here today, we were able to learn a great deal that will benefit the racing next year and beyond."

The test included several physical changes to the car such as ride heights, splitters, skirts and spoilers that were established during the October test. NASCAR, the manufacturers and the teams worked cohesively to identify and implement each of the potential changes. The overall goal for the new package is to help promote more side-by-side racing and passing throughout each race.

"We saw progress today in terms of passing with each of the new configurations,” Stefanyshyn said. “We want to arrive at more green-flag passing at intermediate tracks next season with our new setup. From the results in October and today’s test we are very excited at the prospects."

Stefanyshyn and team were able to test various setups on the Gen-6 car, each supported by data-driven research with specific effects. The 2014 changes will build on a very successful rollout of the Gen-6 race car in 2013. The new car had notable gains in passing throughout the year, shattering 19 track qualifying records and guiding 17 different drivers to victory.

Sixteen teams and 30 drivers were onsite at the track for the final NASCAR test of 2013. More than 140 race-replicating laps were run throughout providing key data to finalize the decision on changes to the Gen-6 car.

The 2014 NASCAR season officially gets underway with the 56th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Daytona International Speedway. The Great American Race will air live on FOX, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.

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